


Sweet Surrender

by WorstSageEver



Category: VALORANT (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Predator/Prey, Violence, canon divergence - reyna is a rogue assassin, lol, maybe kidnapping later, poor sage, reyna is always horny, she doesn't work for Kingdom nor VALORANT, sorry i wrote this, this is a cry for help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:02:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28978581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorstSageEver/pseuds/WorstSageEver
Summary: former title: 'just wrote the shittiest 600 words of my life, how's your day?'sage is sad bc she keeps losing to reyna :c
Relationships: Reyna/Sage (VALORANT)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 42





	1. Give in

**Author's Note:**

> still struggling to get over the fact that idiot sage won't give in even when it's completely hopeless, so i'll keep writing about it until i'm satisfied (never, probably).

_ I am so tired. _

Sage lay underneath the vast grey blanket, but it did nothing to warm her. If she could pull it up over her chest and past her neck, she would. It was just too far out of reach.

Way too far. 

She wished she could sleep here. The shadow that loomed over her served as the constant reminder that no, she could not. 

“Falling asleep?”

_ “No,” _ Sage wanted to say, but it wasn’t true. And she was too exhausted, anyways, to even open her mouth to speak. 

Reyna hummed. A soft contemplation. “Hmm. You thought you put up a fight, didn’t you?”

_ Put up a fight?  _ Sage had fought hard. Harder than she’d ever had to in her whole life. But whether she’d put up a fight was a different question.

One whose answer was a resounding no. 

Their battle had lasted for hours. Four, five, maybe even six. Sage couldn’t tell. She’d ran as fast and as far as she could, but Reyna always caught up. There reached a point where Sage could run no more. Still, she fought on. Tried to, at least. Reyna threw her around with ease, shoved her back down onto the floor every time she tried to get up. Smiling the whole while. It was clear that Reyna had no interest in killing Sage. She was playing with her food - an insult that angered Sage enough to keep her fighting, even if she was being pushed to the very limit of her physical capabilities. To the point where she felt like she might collapse under the exhaustion. 

“No,” Reyna agreed. She shook her head in mock sadness. “I’m afraid not. I can’t remember ever having such a disappointing opponent.” 

A hand around Sage’s throat. Closing, but not squeezing. 

“Poor thing. I wish you would have given up earlier. For your sake.” 

Hard to breathe. Hard to swallow. Her eyes were half-closed. Three-quarters of the way, now. Maybe all her functions would gradually cease and then finally, mercifully, she would be granted the rest she so desired. 

_ No. I will not give in. I cannot.  _

“Shh. It’s okay.”

She could almost believe it. It was peaceful here. The wind whistled past, a gentle breeze that soothed her battered body. The blanket above heaved and rolled like ocean waves, but slower. Much slower. Sage’s eyelids drooped further. 

“You don’t have to fight anymore. I’ll take care of you.”

Such deep, thorough exhaustion left her with an easy acceptance of all that had happened, and all that would happen. The initial humiliation no longer gnawed at her. Nor did her fear of being captured. 

Sweet surrender.

That blanket looked so fluffy and soft. But also cruel. Like it might begin to rain relentlessly down on her at any moment.

Fingers came to wipe up the trail of blood that oozed down the side of Sage’s head. Then, through the slits that were now her eyes, she saw those same red-tipped fingers slip into Reyna’s mouth.

_ What are you doing? _

“Oh, you are delicious. I’d have you for every meal of every day.”

Reyna’s voice was a lullaby to her, never mind the content of her words. If she said any more, Sage would definitely fall asleep here and now. 

And she might have, if not for the hands that lifted her up off the ground. Tentative and gentle, like Reyna was afraid of hurting her. Funny, because that had evidently not been a concern of hers during the past few hours. 

“Sweet Sage. Let yourself relax for once. It’ll be okay.”

When was the last time she’d been carried like this? It was pleasant. Nice to let someone else take control for once. 

There was once a time where Sage believed she could rely entirely on her resolve alone. Her will to resist. Her natural defiance and push-back. Her fighting spirit.

After today, she wasn’t so sure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might go somewhere. idk where or when though


	2. Cracks in the ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having suffered her first real defeat at the hands of Reyna, Sage works to ensure it never happens again.
> 
> She isn’t very successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip! Two of them, actually (thanks merong63) 
> 
> (for a fun challenge, try figuring out which agents the first three lines of dialogue belong to)

_ “Damn, Sage. What can’t you do?” _

_ “Man! You pack one helluva punch.” _

_ “I’ve never seen an agent so competent in all fields. You should be proud of yourself, Sage.” _

So much praise, and it was all Sage could do to force herself to nod politely and thank whoever was cheering her on.

Especially when she felt she didn’t deserve it.

Sage once saw it as her greatest achievement: reaching the level of all those she looked up to, and then eventually coming to surpass them. The feelings of inadequacy she’d harboured for years finally lost their grip, and she felt herself truly liberated. But by now, many years later, that gratification had grown stale. She tried to remain appreciative, but recent events had made doing so particularly difficult. 

She was the best, and she had been the best for a long time. All the others envied her numerous and extensive abilities. None could match her in hand-to-hand combat, even when she was outmuscled by the likes of Sova and Brimstone. She was the only agent who could run five minute miles - the exception being Jett, but only when using her Tailwind. Her unparalleled spatial awareness and unwavering calm made her a most reliable leader in chaotic firefights. And, of course, there was no substitute for her healing abilities and resurrections. Her fellow agents would, quite literally, give their lives to protect their most valuable healer from harm. Were it not a necessity that Sage be kept safe in the backline, she would likely be VALORANT’s best entry fragger, not because her radiant abilities allowed it, but through her sheer skill and intelligence. 

So the others saw it as a mystery, that Sage would continue to push herself when she already stood so firmly at the top. 

It would be past midnight, and one would be passing by the Range on the way to their quarters to see Sage in the midst of an intense training session.

She could hardly be approached or conversed with during meals or other downtime, for she would always take those moments to study some manual or textbook instead. 

Nor did it appear that she knew the meaning of relaxation. While the other agents enjoyed the occasional drink or even a party, Sage could never be found partaking in such leisurely activities. She thrust herself into a constant grind towards self-improvement when she had so little left to improve upon, and she’d only grown more serious about it as of late. Everyone resigned themselves to the explanation that such gumption was simply how she’d become so strong in the first place.

That was true. But they could not know what - or who, rather - truly drove her tireless ambition. 

That voice in her head, mocking her. Much as she tried, she could not forget that derisive tone. Rather, it would not leave her be. That same line playing over and over, from the moment she woke to the moment she shut her eyes at night.

**_How are you so weak?_ **

*******

The only other time Sage had ever felt truly toyed with was the last time she encountered Reyna.

Encountered - she couldn’t, in good conscience, say she managed to fight her.

This was a painfully similar experience.

Their one-on-one went uninterrupted for its entire duration. Sage questioned whether that was by design - she was stalling Kingdom so the rest of VALORANT could make their escape, but why their forces hadn’t collapsed on her during her battle with Reyna was a mystery. 

Reyna wasn’t affiliated with Kingdom, as far as Sage knew. But that only made this even more puzzling - what were Reyna’s motives here? Sage was most definitely desired by numerous organizations and corporations for many reasons. She would’ve assumed Reyna was contracted by one such group to take her, but that didn’t make sense with the way Reyna was treating this hunt. 

The way she played with her food.

It took a while for Sage to realize, but Reyna’s bullets were aimed with the intent to be nonlethal. Yet when she did fire, she hit. Reyna could have easily put a bullet between Sage’s eyes, but something was holding her back. So instead, casings grazed the sides of Sage’s thighs, her shoulders, her calves. The wounds were minor enough for her to heal up with ease, but that was only because Reyna was using her Ghost. Sage knew she had a Vandal on her as well, and why she wasn’t using that instead was yet another question left unanswered. 

And whenever Sage got shot, she would hear the Empress taunting her. 

_ “Aw. It’s not your day, is it?” _

_ “You know, you can give up at any time. Just say the word.” _

_ “What’s wrong, cariño? Why don’t you fire back?” _

At first, Sage had tried trading shots with Reyna, but when she took aim, she found she could not land a single bullet. Reyna’s movements were incredibly unpredictable, and this strength was compounded by her raw speed. At times, it looked as if she was dodging bullets mid-air. Sage began returning fire less and less, only pulling the trigger when she felt absolutely certain she had a clear shot.

It still didn’t work.

The gunfight lasted a comically long time. With such lethal weaponry. a drawn-out fight like theirs would’ve meant both parties were unskilled or unfamiliar with their firearms. This was an exception. Sage was playing it smart. Her aim was well-placed. She used cover intelligently (and created it when necessary with her barrier orbs), took the time to move across open space whenever she heard Reyna reloading, and fired from advantageous angles. Reyna pressured her relentlessly, however, cutting off exits with only gunfire and her positioning. Sage eventually found herself backed into a dead end with no bullets left. 

She was almost afraid to equip her Celestial warfan, knowing how pathetic this last resort looked to her opponent who was still holding a fully-loaded pistol. 

“Does the little dove believe herself a threat? How adorable,” Reyna cooed, before firing six shots at Sage’s feet.

The sentinel jumped back, dodging out of instinct even when the bullets would not have hit her. Her gaze lingered on the bullet holes in the ground - where Reyna’s Ghost landed shortly after.

“It seems I’m out of bullets. Oopsies.”

“Why are you doing this? If you will not fight in earnest, leave me alone,” Sage demanded. She assumed a defensive stance, hoping to both ward off her assailant as well as ready herself for whatever offense Reyna might attempt. 

“Oh, but you can’t even handle me when I’m hardly trying, my sweet.” 

Reyna brandished her own Reaver knife, running her fingers along its jagged edges before bolting directly towards the healer. Sage, fully unprepared for the speed at which she was assaulted, could do little other than let herself be pinned against the wall. 

She worked to push Reyna off of her, but to little avail. It was as if the more she struggled, the tighter Reyna’s hold grew. The backs of her forearms ground painfully against the concrete wall behind her, no thanks to the pressure with which Reyna forced her wrists against it. 

“Leave  _ you _ alone? Never,” Reyna said between strained, ragged breaths - a sign of exertion, Sage hoped, rather than excitement. 

“What do you want from me?” Sage asked.

Reyna’s only response was her amused smile. Bored of the healer’s useless struggling, she grabbed Sage by the scruff of her neck, then yanked her forth. Sage slid down to her knees, and her arms involuntarily wrapped themselves around Reyna’s waist. Looking up, she saw shock in the woman’s eyes, but not displeasure. Sage’s hands fumbled to remove themselves from this position, which, given her weakened and awkward state, became less of an attempt to shove Reyna away, and more of feeling her abs through the fabric of her shirt. 

Sage swore she heard “Cute,” muttered under Reyna’s breath, but she had little time to mull it over as Reyna had thrown her flailing body back into the alley. 

“Were you looking for a knife fight? Certainly. Let’s see how you fare,” Reyna said while Sage was still picking herself up from off the ground. 

When she did turn around to face Reyna, she was met with a blade swiping at her, inches from her face. She dodged back just in time.

“Careful, dear.”

Hoping to land some strikes of her own, Sage readied her warfan. But she soon came to the realization that she would only be using it to defend herself from Reyna’s ruthless onslaught. Sage parried what attacks she could, but Reyna’s blade found its way through too often for the battle to be sustainable on the monk’s end. The slices were shallow but plentiful, collecting in droves on her forearms and abdomen. She grit her teeth against the pain, though her strength was waning. Reyna refused to let up, and Sage was constantly forced to step back, step back and concede space. She feared she would find herself backed up against another wall. That would be it for her. 

Sage had to find a way out, and fast. Reyna gave her no breathing room, however, so while Sage was considering her options, the duelist took advantage by landing even deeper strikes. Sage cried out, saw splatters of her own blood spill out onto the floor, her robes. A drop landed on Reyna’s cheek. She paid too much attention to that, too, and the next thing she knew, her warfan had been knocked out of her hand.

_ Oh no. _

Sage had nothing left to defend herself with. She stumbled backwards. Not fast enough. She should’ve just ran the moment she lost her weapon. Reyna slinked one arm around her back, pulling her in while holding her knife against the healer’s jugular. 

Time froze. Sage saw the deep blue wisps floating up and away from the knife that pressed itself so close to her neck. She could almost feel the metal’s icy chill on her skin. Surely, this was not how her life came to its end? 

“Your heart’s racing.”

Reyna wasn’t lying. The beating of Sage’s heart felt like timpanis in her eardrums. She gulped. She would not beg for mercy. Not ever. She knew this, and yet… 

It hurt to think that VALORANT would suffer the loss of their best healer solely because of her stubbornness and pride. 

Perhaps it was time to concede some of her values. 

But Reyna didn’t give her the chance. Just like with her Ghost, she tossed her Reaver knife off to the side. 

“Aw. You didn’t really think I’d kill you, did you?” Reyna asked. 

Sage hated how easily she’d read the surprise on her face. She hated the smugness in Reyna’s grin, but more importantly, she saw that she’d become loose. Relaxed. Sage didn’t hesitate. 

She shoved the unsuspecting Reyna off her, then went for a chop at the side of the neck. It almost worked, but even when the Empress left herself open to attack, she was fast. She caught Sage’s hand with her own, and twisted.

Pain ripped through Sage’s palm and wrist. She could hardly hear herself cry out. Punch after punch was felt in her gut, and she keeled over. Reyna was saying something she couldn’t make out. There was a teasing tone - that much she could tell. Her thoughts had become much too hazy to rely on. Instinct took over, and Sage scrambled to her feet. The next thing she knew, she was somehow on the run. 

Reyna was close behind. This wouldn’t do. Sage was far too weak to operate at full speed, and adrenaline wasn’t doing enough to help her. She made it not ten feet before Reyna slammed her into the ground, forcing her head down into the dirt. 

“What’s the matter? You don’t want to fight anymore?”

Reyna grabbed a fistful of Sage’s hair, and yanked her up. Sage swore she nearly sprained her neck from the force. She saw the Empress’s face at the edge of her vision. There was a glint in her eyes.

Hunger.

“Then run.”

Sage didn’t stick around to find out what Reyna would do to her if she refused. 

“Give me a good chase, hermosa,” she heard from far in the distance. Was Reyna giving her a head start? Surely she didn’t think so poorly of Sage as to treat her like lowly prey? 

Well, now that she thought about it, it's what Reyna had been doing all along.

Sage figured it was better not to dwell on it. On Reyna. She put all her focus on running as fast as her battered body would allow her, using what few Radianite orbs she had left to slow the path behind her. The streets were too wide for her barriers to be effective in. She took to alleys when she could, and walled off the narrow corridors there. 

The short respite allowed Sage enough time to gather her thoughts. Reyna had pushed her west, if her sense of direction was right. That meant she was headed for the ocean. She’d have to circle back around the other way if she wanted to escape into the relative safety of the city. 

For once, Sage felt fortunate that Reyna was one to play with her food. In this winding maze of a city, she believed she had a good chance of evading the Empress’ sight and escaping for good. 

_ So long as I’m not spotted. So long as I’m not spotted, _ she repeated to herself. She didn’t think she could outrun Reyna in her current state. She most definitely wouldn’t be able to put up a fight. Their battle had started with her in great shape and from a great position, and she’d squandered it all. No, it was Reyna who had outplayed her, in fact. Sage would be especially helpless against the Empress now, after all the beating and bruising she’d undergone. She may as well just lay down and cry if Reyna caught her here. 

Such negative thoughts wouldn’t help her, though. She took a deep breath to clear her mind. Tried to, rather. Breathing was becoming difficult. Like she couldn’t dig deep enough to get in a good breath of air. Why? Sage had only been running for about ten minutes, and she was used to both sprints and long-distance. Perhaps exhaustion and her injuries were catching up to her. She allowed herself to slow to an easier pace. There was plenty of daylight when her fight with Reyna had begun, but by now the sun had set. She could hide in the shadows where the streetlights did not reach. 

At this speed, she could try to heal herself while on the move. She reached for her belt. Her hands grasped nothing but air. She looked down, squinting in the darkness.

Just as she thought. No orbs left. 

And to make matters worse, the sound of footfalls in front of her. 

Sage froze. Prayed that the darkness would be enough to conceal her. As desperately as she needed oxygen, she halted her breathing in the hopes that whatever it was  _ (God, please not Reyna) _ passed quickly. 

The footsteps came closer.

And closer.

Sage had never shivered with such an intensity in her life. 

Then, a dark black mass, low to the ground, shuffled past. Sage thought she might have a heart attack, given how close it came. The thing entered the streetlight behind her, and she saw it was nothing other than a harmless black tabby. 

If she never knew the meaning of relief before, she found the very definition here. 

Sage finally let herself breathe, gulping air in great, noisy gasps. The notion that Reyna might hear alarmed her, but she needed air so badly. She put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating out of it.

The city was only a couple blocks ahead. She could enter a building, any building, and it would be nigh impossible for Reyna to find her then. 

She continued moving, hugging close to the walls for the best chance at staying out of sight. She-

Sage tumbled forwards, tripping over something. What was it? She was able to soften the fall with her hands, but as she struggled to her feet, something pressed down on her back. Something hard. A foot?

“Found you.”

It was like someone had poured ice water down her back. Sage flinched at the sound of Reyna’s voice. Her entire body had gone cold. She didn’t know why, but she daren’t move. Not quite the fight-or-flight response kicking in. She was more like a deer in the headlights.

And just when she thought she was home free…

“Didn’t I tell you to run?” Reyna taunted. Or, rather, Sage thought it was mere taunting.

Reyna took her foot off Sage's back, and picked the girl up from under her armpits. Sage flailed around uselessly before being shoved forth. She stumbled a little, but managed to find her footing. She needed no more encouragement. 

“Don’t let me catch you again,” she heard from afar - for the second time. She despised the feeling of being no more than Reyna’s plaything, but what choice did she have? Running straight into the jaws of the Empress was far less appealing than even this.

Sage quickened her pace, knowing she was headed in the wrong direction. Towards the ocean. But she sensed Reyna was growing impatient, and would not be so lenient in her chase this time. Worse yet, she didn’t know if she was imagining it or not, but she heard footsteps from behind. She did not want to peer back.

She turned the corner, and the reflection of the moonlight from off the ocean hit her eyes. But how could this be? Had her directionality really been so poor? 

The impossibility of choosing a course of action began to weigh on her. To the left and right, the beach stretched out as far as the eye could see. Wherever she ran, she would get cut off from behind. She could turn around, run directly  _ into _ Reyna, but she knew how that scuffle would end. Or, she could go for the ocean. 

There was a pier almost straight ahead. Sage had no clue what she was going to do with it, but that’s where she ran.

Exhaustion was starting to seriously take its toll on her. By the time she made it up the steps to the pier, her breathing was heavy and ragged. Reyna’s footsteps, however, sounded louder and louder behind her. Sage forced herself to go on. 

It was only when she reached the end of the pier that she realized she’d, quite literally, run herself out of options. There was the ocean, and there was Reyna behind her. For the first time, Sage looked behind.

It turned out that Reyna had not been running. Instead, she was walking towards the healer at such a casual pace it was almost insulting. 

But no matter the Empress’ speed, Sage was still in deep, deep trouble.

She looked to the ocean. Then back to Reyna. She was closing in. There was nothing Sage could do.

She jumped.

The shock of the freezing waters buzzed the length of her spine, ran up the sides of her neck and felt like icicles crawling up her skin. All over. There were sounds, sounds she couldn’t discern, perhaps her own gasps, teasing from Reyna, and the rest from the splashing water she created as she thrashed around, trying to stay afloat out of pure instinct. Her mind was lost fully to the absolute cold that wracked her entire body. 

It was… twenty seconds? Three minutes? Sage couldn’t tell, but she eventually came to something she might call stability. She was able to tread water well enough to keep her neck above the surface. She blinked water, and maybe tears, out of her eyes. Every motion of her limbs sent waves of reverberating numbness down them, and it made her think she would soon enough cease all movement and begin to sink. 

“Oh, sweet Sage. Please - you’d rather drown than be with me?” Reyna pouted. Sage couldn’t tell if it was contrived or not. It was far from her list of concerns, really. What she had to focus on was survival. With a great deal of effort, she worked to swivel herself around to see what lay on the other side of the ocean.

There was nothing. No land, no boats. No hope for safety. If she wanted to get out of this freezing water, she’d have to swim back to shore and into Reyna’s waiting arms.

Hope sank in her like a rock to the bottom of the ocean - the very thing she was trying her best not to emulate in this instant.

“You look so cold, mi corazón. Why don’t you come out of the water? I’ll warm you up.”

Upon hearing this, Sage immediately turned to swim in the other direction. As if she could make it across the entire Pacific Ocean by her lonesome.

It was stupid. Pure spite was what fueled her. It’d been such an aggravating evening, this hopeless battle with Reyna, and Sage was fed up. Foolish, but fed up. 

The hostile temperature made swimming a terrible burden, and her arms and legs had begun to shake in a worrying manner with every stroke. She stopped swimming and returned to simply treading, trying to keep her limbs closer to her body to retain as much heat as possible. Not that it meant much, anyways. All this was futile. At the very back of her mind, she knew that she’d have to return to shore eventually. There was no escape here. 

But how embarrassing it would be - she imagined herself swimming back to shore, looking up at Reyna who’d return her gaze with all that hideous mocking and patronizing in her eyes. And  _ knowing. _ Knowing exactly how much Sage hated it all, and how she could do nothing about it just the same. That was the worst of all. 

It almost made Sage want to stay out here in these horribly frigid waters until she either froze to death or drowned. But that was undesirable for more than a few reasons. 

“Fuck.”

It was rare that Sage swore, rarer that it was aloud, and rarer still that it was in English. Her teeth chattered vigorously as she said it. 

She began her pathetic swim back to shore.

And it was just as she imagined it. The whole swim back, which felt like hours but was probably closer to a few minutes, she saw that disgusting endearment in Reyna’s eyes. It couldn’t be helped. Her neck was too frozen stiff to look away, and when she tried, it complained of such great soreness that she could do nothing but return to holding Reyna’s gaze. 

Sage hoped she looked as dead inside as she felt. The last thing she wanted was to give Reyna the wrong idea. 

When she reached shore, Reyna scooped her up into a warm embrace. Sage couldn’t deny that it was a wonderfully pleasant sensation, to finally feel heat after knowing the excruciation of its absence. She let herself fall into Reyna’s arms with no resistance at all. She was too tired for shame. And it wasn’t the first time she’d lost in such a brutal manner, so why bother trying to save face? 

What she didn’t expect was to slip into unconsciousness so easily, so quickly. Reyna’s hand on the back of her head lulled her into such an unexpectedly peaceful calm that Sage gave herself to it without a second thought. 

_ “That’s right, cariño. I’ll keep you safe. Just let yourself rest.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> action scenes are NOT my thing at all. i guess that's why the pacing feels terribly off to me, sooooooo hahahahahahaha mb mb
> 
> also i swear i'll write the kidnapping segment next chapter. i'm a loser for avoiding it in this chapter and just doing random non-chronological bs instead
> 
> thanks for reading <3


End file.
